John Harrington-WHAT WE USE - Blimp

Here's a video segment on the Jacobson Blimp Kit that we use. A transcription of the video is available after the jump.

Hands on instructional video on photography from Assignment Construct.

Transcript:
Hi, I’m John Harrington and we’re going to break out and break down the wide variety of equipment we use to deliver images to our clients. Next we are going to show you one of the equipment kits we use when we are traveling on assignment. Each kit is different and has a very specific purpose. So lets take a look.

One of the things we use a lot is our Jacobson Blimp. The camera is often too loud for us to shoot on a soundstage, movie set, or in other areas where silence is critical. These cameras as you probably know by now are awfully loud.

We pack it in a Versa-Flex case, which is a semi soft case but you can still stand on it. The blimp is actually a hard case, and inside the case is a cut out for the camera with a remote. The camera actually fits in with the remote connecting to the camera. The camera slides in nicely, neatly inside the case. We use mostly our prime lenses for this.

In this case we’ve got a 35 1.4. The 35 1.4 goes on with the lens tube. These lens tubes are fitted to each lens. Now when you fire it, now the camera is much quieter, much less likely for the noise to be picked up from a sound stage microphone. Each tube is in here; each lens has a different tube.

There’s the 24-70 tube, this tube also works for the 135. One of the nice things about the tube when you are using a zoom is the outer ring. The outer zoom ring is actually slightly larger on the camera. When you put the lens in the tube, the foam inside the tube actually grabs the zoom ring and lets you zoom the lens, so it does actually work very well with the zoom lens.

Other tubes fit on the blimp as well. This tube is for an 80 – 200. So this case just holds the blimp and the tubes, no cameras typically are stored in here. So we have the long tube, the mid tube, and the small tube, all that store in here. We tuck our finger in, and pull the lenses off. It’s pretty easy to switch lenses.

Now the lens is on, stick your finger in there and take the lens out. Camera unpacks same way, simply disconnect there. And that’s the Jacobson Blimp.

Below the video is a link to each of the segments, Let me know what you think!

information

The Assignment Construct is a commentary about what went into, what went on behind-the-scenes, or otherwise occured before, during, or after an assignment. Everything from images of the setup, to choices of camera angle, client requests (and fulfillment), and so on.